A burger and fries is still hands down the quintessential every guy meal. But a burger always seems to be better when you cook it. There’s nothing like a juicy, flavorful burger that you can make as delicious as you want. So, grab your magic spatula and let’s go make a better burger!

Selecting your ground beef

Good quality ground beef is red in color.  If your ground beef is brown or has a brown tinge, odds are it’s been hanging around the meat section of the grocery store longer than you’d want it to. 

Packaged ground beef, like those tubes, has usually been treated with gases (modified atmospheric packaging “MAP”) to preserve the red color and “freshness”. Some believe that these gases actually mask meat spoilage (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5848116/). If you’re in to that, ok…

The most common ground beef is lean-to-fat ratio 85/15 chuck. Chuck is perfect for burgers because of its high fat content.  High fat content of course equals great flavor and ummmm, juiciness! Ground sirloin is however, the most flavorful even though it has a lower fat content. It is also the most expensive but its the best choice for a great  burger. One way to ensure you have the best of both worlds; great flavor plus drip-down-your-hand juicy, is to mix the chuck and sirloin so you can have the flavor sirloin brings to the party and the juiciness of chuck. 

For the best burger, handmade patties just seem to taste better than the prefab frozen patties. You can’t deny the convenience of  the prepackaged patty but as for me, I’m not going to sacrifice the flavor. You can prep your burgers with fillers, binders and seasonings; egg, breadcrumbs bbq rubs, whatever. However, some chefs (I’m not one of those) recommend not using anything other than salt and let the flavor of the beef speak for itself. It is said (not by me) that if you add anything more to your burger than salt and a little pepper, you’re just making meatloaf. Salting your beef too soon though, will cause the moisture in your burger to evaporate and you’ll end up with a drier burger. Personally, I like to get a little jazzy, with the seasonings.

Don’t toss your burger in a cold pan. Cook it on a hot grill, skillet, or pan and give it a quick sear to help seal in the juices. Want a smashed burger? Just smash with a heavy spatula for a moment or two as soon as you put it in a hot pan to get full contact, preferably cast iron, as it sears. Once it gets its crust, flip to finish cooking it.”But, won’t I smash all the juiciness out of the burger? Do you really know what you’re talking about?” No. And. Yes .It’s science. Don’t question settled science.  

How about a perfectly flat burger (I expect that we’d all want that)? Create a void or divet -but not a hole, on one side of the burger, or create a bit of a lip around the edge and cook it on the flat side first.  When you flip it over the steam from the moisture in the meat will puff up the burger a bit and ultimately create a respectably flat burger by the end of cooking. Seal in the flavor by searing it on a higher heat to lock in the juices. Then turn the heat down to cook it through to the doneness you like.When it is to your liking, take it off the heat and let it rest so the juices can redistribute. 

Stuff a burger with havarti or pepper jack cheese, mushrooms, carmelized onions,  and peppers. Be sure to create a good seal around the stuffings so they don’t seep out.

Make it memorable.  Don’t serve a dull burger, not even to your kids! Step up your game or at the very least, grill your bun. Use a little butter or mayo on the face of the bun and grill until toasted.

Toppings

Just as there is no shortage of ingredients you can  put in your burger, there is absolutely NO shortage of toppings that can transform a “school lunch” burger into a burger of epic proportions. Of course, the standard items apply and you’ll usually find them in your refrigerator:

Other fun stuff that loves burgers as much as we do:

Pesto Mayo

Bacon

Sauteed mushrooms

Coleslaw

Pineapple (I know)

Avocado

Sriracha sauce

Bacon jam

Thousand Island dressing

BBQ sauce

Bleu cheese (or whatever cheese you get down with)

Fried egg

Portobello mushroom cap

Corned beef (again yeah, I know)

Cha cha (or Chow Chow)

Arugula…

The list is endless. I hope this gave you some inspiration to make a better burger.   Mix it up, and let me know what your jam is.